⭐ 8.5/10

Side Note: Heavy bias because of the directors, co-producing studios, designs, and lesbians.

Wow. I came into this series because I was interested in the designs and was curious since Gainax and Toei worked on this one. BOY was I in for a ride. Mainly watched it for fun.

First episode, totally Trigger feel, the humor was there, pulling me in already. Since I was also familiar and a huge fan with the style and cinematography, I was able to sit through all the extreme male gazey fan service parts when I started. And as a heads up, I'm aware that this is a shounen magical girl show. I did enjoy some of the fan service thoguh, Honey had great poses in a few scenes. Didn't pay much attention to the story. Honey's initial outfits when she was introduced were really cute. Natsuko was a character that I thought was there for humor, but she seemed like she a great character to be used seriously. She had all the chops but she was played down in the beginning. It was a good episode to get the gist of things and to capture my attention. Action was, GREAT.

Second episode. Wow, the new villians are starting to pick up, we're really to rev up. I LOVED Scarlet. She was such a great addition and I loved every aspect about it. Another contribution to her was that she not sexualized AT ALL and it made it very enjoyable for me to watch her on screen. I even wanted her to show up more! Also, when Honey cooked dinner for Natsuko when she came home, that's when the ball started rolling for the sapphics. Cobalt's design was great, I loved her silhouette but her character and personality was okay. She really fell down the list as I saw her more on screen. I'm really glad in this episode, we started to reveal another said to Seiji because I DID not like him in the first episode, and it was great confirming my dislike.

Third episode. LESBIANS. Oh my god, did this episode really snowball my love for Natsuko and Honey. In the beginning, the NGE cinematography kicked in and I was ON BOARD. The dramatic camera shots and the tone of the whole episode. *Chef Kiss* We started to hit the climax of this show and things are going fast. So many amazing scenes and we get another awesome action sequence with Black Claw and Honey. When Natsuko saved Honey after the fight and her carrying her in the sewer, I was obsessed. Nothing says true love by having your lover carry you while you're half alive and you saying thank you in the sewers. Just kidding, in reality, running to save your lover and giving them restart medicine mouth mouth was it. And calling your lover your partner in your opening speech. Wow, are they in love or what. Also, can we talk about NAtsuko in that battle gear and scarf. Whew! Overall, this was a great episode and we really get to see the two confirm their feelings for each other, whether it be platonic or romantic. I think with Sister Jill, she felt like such a insignificant character to me. She did feel like the main villain though but there was nothing for me to attach feelings for her. I couldn't get a hold that she was also developing emotions even though she had been missing it. But it's okay, we're not here for plot, we're here to see Honey and Natsuko FALL IN LOVE. I think the ending is hard to explain, but it makes me very happy to see them working together as PARTNERS and riding off together on their motorcycle and car. Wow, what a way to end it. Also ALSO, can we talk about Natsuko in that suit and those suspenders. WOW!

Anyways, I really REALLY enjoyed this show, in more ways than I ever thought I would. There's so many layers too and it definitely beats the "Male Gaze" reason of why not to watch it, at least for me. Honestly, this has to be one of my favorite shows right now.

And NatsukoxHoney is the way to go. :)